North Dakota Constitution

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=== Section 1. ===

1. Perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and no
inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or property
on account of his or her mode of religious worship.

2. The people inhabiting this state do agree and declare that
they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public
lands lying within the boundaries thereof, and to all lands lying
within said limits owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes, and
that until the title thereto shall have been extinguished by the
United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition
of the United States, and that said Indian lands shall remain under
the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United
states, provided, however, that the legislative assembly of the state
of North Dakota may, upon such terms and conditions as it shall adopt,
provide for the acceptance of such jurisdiction as may be delegated to
the state by act of Congress; that the lands belonging to citizens of
the United States residing without this state shall never be taxed at
a higher rate than the lands belonging to residents of this state;
that no taxes shall be imposed by this state on lands or property
therein, belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by the
United States or reserved for its use.  But nothing in this article
shall preclude this state from taxing as other lands are taxed, any
lands owned or held by any Indian who has severed his tribal
relations, and has obtained from the United States or from any person,
a title thereto, by patent or other grant, save and except such lands
as have been or may be granted to any Indian or Indians under any acts
of Congress containing a provision exempting the lands thus granted
from taxation, which last mentioned lands shall be exempt from
taxation so long, and to such an extent, as is, or may be provided in
the act of Congress granting the same.

3. In order that payment of the debts and liabilities contracted
or incurred by and in behalf of the Territory of Dakota may be justly
and equitably provided for and made, and in pursuance of the
requirements of an act of congress approved February 22, 1889,
entitled "An act to provide for the division of Dakota into two states
and to enable the people of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and
Washington to form constitutions and state governments and to be
admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original states,
and to make donations of public lands to such states," the states of
North Dakota and South Dakota, by proceedings of a joint commission,
duly appointed under said act, the sessions whereof were held at
Bismarck in said state of North Dakota, from July 16, 1889, to July
31, 1889, inclusive, have agreed to the following adjustment of the
amounts of the debts and liabilities of the Territory of Dakota which
shall be assumed and paid by each of the states of North Dakota and
South Dakota, respectively, to-wit:

This agreement shall take effect and be in force from and after the
admission into the Union, as one of the United States of America, of
either the state of North Dakota or the state of South Dakota.

The words "state of North Dakota" wherever used in this agreement,
shall be taken to mean the Territory of North Dakota in case the state
of South Dakota shall be admitted into the Union prior to the
admission into the Union of the state of North Dakota; and the words
"state of South Dakota," wherever used in this agreement, shall be
taken to mean the Territory of South Dakota in case the state of North
Dakota shall be admitted into the Union prior to the admission into
the Union of the state of South Dakota.

The said state of North Dakota shall assume and pay all bonds issued
by the Territory of Dakota to provide funds for the purchase,
construction, repairs or maintenance of such public institutions,
grounds or buildings as are located within the boundaries of North
Dakota, and shall pay all warrants issued under and by virtue of that
certain Act of the legislative assembly of the Territory of Dakota,
approved March 8, 1889, entitled "An Act to provide for the refunding
of outstanding warrants drawn on the Capitol Building Fund."

The said state of South Dakota shall assume and pay all bonds issued
by the Territory or Dakota to provide funds for the purchase,
construction, repairs or maintenance of such public institutions,
grounds or buildings as are located within the boundaries of South
Dakota.

That is to say: The state of North Dakota shall assume and pay the
following bonds and indebtedness, to-wit:

Bonds issued on account of the Hospital for Insane at Jamestown, North
Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $266,000; also bonds issued on
account of the North Dakota University at Grand Forks, North Dakota,
the face aggregate of which is $96,700; also, bonds issued on account
of the Penitentiary at Bismarck, North Dakota, the face aggregate of
which is $93,600; also, refunding Capitol Building warrants dated
April 1, 1889, $83,507.46.

And the state of South Dakota shall assume and pay the following bonds
and indebtedness, to-wit:

Bonds issued on account of the Hospital for the Insane at Yankton,
South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $210,000; also, bonds
issued on account of the School for Deaf Mutes, at Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $51,000; also, bonds issued on
account of the University at Vermillion, South Dakota, the face
aggregate of which is $75,000; also, bonds issued on account of the
Penitentiary at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which
is $94,300; also, bonds issued on account of the Agricultural College
at Brookings, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $97,500;
also, bonds issued on account of the Normal School at Madison, South
Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $49,400; also, bonds issued on
account of the School of Mines at Rapid City, South Dakota, the face
aggregate of which is $33,000; also, bonds issued on account of the
Reform School at Plankinton, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which
is $30,000; also, bonds issued on account of the Normal School at
Spearfish, South Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $25,000; also
bonds issued on account of the Soldiers' Home at Hot Springs, South
Dakota, the face aggregate of which is $45,000.

The states of North Dakota and South Dakota shall pay one- half each
of all liabilities now existing or hereafter and prior to the taking
effect of this agreement incurred, except those hereto fore or
hereafter incurred on account of public institutions, grounds or
buildings, except as otherwise herein specifically provided.

The state of South Dakota shall pay to the state of North Dakota
$46,500, on account of the excess of Territorial appropriations for
the permanent improvement of territorial institutions which under this
agreement will go to South Dakota, and in full of the undivided
one-half interest of North Dakota in the territorial library, and iu
full settlement of unbalanced accounts, and of all claims against the
territory, of whatever nature, legal or equitable, arising out of the
alleged erroneous or unlawful taxation of Northern Pacific Railroad
lands, and the payment of said amount shall discharge and exempt the
state of South Dakota from all liability for or on account of the
several matters herein before referred to; nor shall either state be
called upon to pay or answer to any portion of liability hereafter
arising or accruing on account of transactions heretofore had, which
liability would be a liability of the Territory of Dakota had such
territory remained in existence, and which liability shall grow out of
matters connected with any public institutions, grounds or buildings
of the territory situated or located within the boundaries of the
other state.

A final adjustment of accounts shall be made upon the following basis:
North Dakota shall be charged with all sums paid on account of the
public institutions, grounds or buildings located within its
boundaries on account of the current appropriations since March 9,
1889, and South Dakota shall be charged with all sums paid on account
of public institutions, grounds or buildings located within its
boundaries on the same account and during the same time. Each state
shall be charged with one-half of all other expenses of the
territorial government during the same time. All moneys paid into the
treasury during the period from March 8, 1889, to the time of taking
effect of this agreement by any county, municipality or person within
the limits of the proposed state of North Dakota, shall be credited to
the state of North Dakota; and all sums paid into said treasury within
the same time by any county, municipality or person within the limits
of the proposed state of South Dakota shall be credited to the state
of South Dakota; except that any and all taxes on gross earnings paid
into said treasury by railroad corporations, since the 8th day of
March, 1889, based upon earnings of years prior to 1888, under and by
virtue of the act of the legislative assembly of the Territory of
Dakota, approved March 7, 1889, and entitled "An Act providing for the
levy and collection of taxes upon property of railroad companies in
this Territory," being Chapter 107 of the Session Laws of 1889, (that
is, the part of such sums going to the Territory) shall be equally
divided between the states of North Dakota and South Dakota; and all
taxes heretofore or here after paid into said treasury under and by
virtue of the act last mentioned, based on the gross earnings of the
year 1888, shall be distributed as already provided by law, except
that so much thereof as goes to the territorial treasury shall be
divided as fol lows: North Dakota shall have so much thereof as shall
be or has been paid by railroads within the limits of the proposed
state of North Dakota, and South Dakota so much thereof as shall be or
has been paid by railroads within the limits of the proposed state of
South Dakota; each state shall be credited also with all balances of
appropriations made by the Seventeenth legislative assembly of the
Territory of Dakota for the account of the public institutions,
grounds or buildings situated within its limits, remaining unexpended
on March 8, 1889. If there shall be any indebtedness except the
indebtedness represented by the bonds and refunding warrants
hereinbefore mentioned, each state shall at the time of such final
adjustment of accounts, assume its share of said indebtedness as
determined by the amount paid on account of the public institutions,
grounds or buildings of such state in excess of the receipts from
counties, municipalities, railroad corporations or persons within the
limits of said state, as provided in this article ; and if there
should be a surplus at the time of such final adjustment, each state
shall be entitled to the amounts received from counties,
municipalities, railroad corporations or persons within its limits
over and above the amount charged it.

And the state of North Dakota hereby obligates itself to pay such part
of the debts and liabilities of the Territory of Dakota as is declared
by the foregoing agreement to be its proportion thereof, the same as
if such proportion had been originally created by said state of North
Dakota as its own debt or liability.

[[[https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/sessionlaws/1959/pdf/CAA.pdf|Amended Jun. 24, 1958]], effective Jul. 24, 1958]